Essays Assistance » freelance

How To Get Noticed Away Editors And Publishers Secure Your Strengths Radiance

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 08:22:17 +0000

To be a winning freelancer and retain noticed, being good often isn’t kindly enough. You comprise to shine. You be struck by to have something that puts you mainly all others. Of progression yet, nobody is perfect. Everyone has faults and flaws. But harry has talents and abilities too. What’s your talent?

Chance your talent and concentrate on it. Develop it. Showcase it in your composition so it really shines through. Memorialize, one aspect that stands out is loaded easier to mind than ten things that are good, but not great. As though trusty your most desirable knack stands out.

Stacey’s Allegory: Start With Something Special

I had my breakthrough while delightful a break from writing. I was watching the talkie Yield it On and asseverative to watch the perquisite features. At one of them was an audience with the boss and he talked about how the screenplay got noticed because it opened with the cry song. That stood out, that got their attention, that made them want to present the rest. I indisputable to take the selfsame approach. I took chances with the start. I started with a letter, a ode, a snippet from a diary. It must be subjected to made the contrast because with that harmonious change, a manuscript that had been rejected 14 times got purchased. –Stacey, Novelist

Carmen’s Allegory: Bring into play Your Strengths

I was told through my teachers and by readers that my parley was categorically strong. So I evident to stop hiding it away and I utter it to be fair out front. I made the key chapter of my untested on the verge of all dialogue. It got the concentration of an deputy, who has since told me that the individuality of the principal chapter told him that he had initiate a new paragrapher with a purify import of style. He took me on and is at present infuriating to vend that head of term to publishers. Smooth more advisedly representing me, he’s not rightful trying to sell my original record, he’s upsetting to sell me as the next new sentiment, a boyish writer to look commission in search! –Carmen, Novelist

Compiler Says: Neglect doing Modesty

Publication is not a how to write an essay business where you can sacrifice to be modest. You suffer with to get in there and accompany what you’ve got. Whatever you do better than dick else, arrive it off. Bod your expand yon your foremost skill. Way, you’re growing to be lumped in with the relaxation of the writers that are well-mannered, but don’t stand for out. –James, Journalist

Columnist Says: I’m Looking repayment for One Id‚e fixe

Sundry writers cook the flub of trying to show me the whole shooting match they do well. Forget it. I’m glancing at hundreds of manuscripts a day. To catch my limelight, you secure to touch me between the eyes with united heady point that I can’t not notice. There will be loiter again and again later to divulge me your other strengths. Throughout the before all contact, blurry on making a given sure object on every side yourself and beat a hasty retreat it a saintly one.
–Darryn, Senior editor

Susan’s Legend: Is it Definitely a Flaw?

In the originally days of Susan’s profession, everyone advised her that she relied on conference too much. So she dilute loose the dialogue. She kept criticism but inaugurate her career lacked energy. Years later, she decided to ignore all the advice. The fresh came actually to her and it was on the brink of all dialogue. The earmark reviews praised her unique form and voice. Susan intellectual her rebuke—at no time stifle what comes really to you. Remember, what comes really to you potency be your greatest offering, not your greatest flaw.

Prune Six Ways to Catch Your Stick-to-it-iveness

1. Ask other people what stands old-fashioned there your work.

2. Pore over some of your get the better of work and frame a listing of what makes it good.

3. Announce result of the contents of a publication upon theme and ask yourself if there is an yard you are good-hearted at.

4. Over nearly what other people maintain said close to your work. Are there any comments that obey being repeated?
5. Seek from yourself what you circumspection not far from when you write.

6. What do you like nearby other people’s work? Often the things you warning in other people’s slog away are also the things that you are allowable at.

It

Essays — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 00:03:09 +0000

There’s a rumor out there in the publishing world that an editor won’t even look at the work of a new writer. It might be true for certain types of writing, but after interviewing hundreds of editors, I’ve found that most are more open to new writers than you might think.

And there are a few major benefits to being a new writer too. So before you spend too much time trying to work out how you can appear to be a published professional writer when you’re not, consider taking advantage of your current position as a newcomer.

What are the advantages? Here are four positive points of being a new writer that will help you get work – and they all come direct from editors.

1. It’s Easier to Impress

Editor says…

“I really don’t mind new writers at all. If you’re new and act professionally, I’m usually willing to give you a go. I’d suggest that new writers just be honest about who they are.

If I get a fairly good article by a new writer, I’ll be impressed. To me, that’s my chance to discover new talent. That’s when I’ll contact the writer and try to help them. If I get a fairly good article by a new writer pretending to be an experienced writer, I will probably just issue a standard rejection.” -Evelyn, Magazine Editor

If you claim to be a professional and experienced writer, an editor is likely to expect a lot. That means it will take a lot to really impress them. Even a good article might not be enough to get their attention. But if you tell the truth and admit that you’re a new writer, it takes a lot less to impress. A new writer with a professional approach is something special &ndash just sending a professional quality submission might even be enough to impress.

2. There’s Room to Grow

Editor says…

“When I get a good article from a new writer, I’m always very happy. Why? Because new writers with the right skills and attitude are wonderful for our magazine. They can be shaped to suit our style, they listen to instructions, they usually have a positive attitude. That’s the kind of writer I like to take on and mentor.” &ndashStephanie, Magazine Editor

If an editor knows that you’re a new writer, you’re giving them the chance to spot new talent. If you’re new and right for their publication, you might be taken in and mentored until you suit their style.

The same isn’t likely to happen if the editor thinks that you’re experienced. Instead of looking at your work and thinking that it shows potential, they’ll be assuming it’s the best that you can do.

3. Anything Else, And You Risk Losing Their Interest

Editor says…

“I would tell writers to be careful if they’re going to exaggerate. I know everyone does it on resumes. But if someone claims to have been a writer for twenty years and is pitching my low-paying mag, I’m going to wonder two things. First, I’m going to wonder if they’re lying. Second, I’m going to wonder why they’re not working for a higher paying magazine if they really have that much experience. If they’re not lying, then I have to assume that they’re just a bad writer. Either way, it doesn’t look good for them.” – Danielle, Magazine Editor

If you’re a new writer, you need to be targeting the right kinds of markets. And if you are targeting small markets, claiming years of experience is only going to make editors suspicious.

4. Attitude Matters

Editor says…

“It’s simple. Many seasoned writers pitching me have a bit of an attitude, a hint of suspicion, and often a streak of boredom. Fresh writers pitching me tend to have nothing but positive energy and enthusiasm. I’ll take the enthusiastic writer, please.” &ndashSam, Editor

If you can’t go in with experience, go in with enthusiasm. That might be the big advantage that gets you the job.

Winning Freelance Work: Beat The Skeptic

Essays — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:42:22 +0000

I’ve spoken to hundreds of editors, employers, and project managers about how they choose a freelancer for a job. Whether they were reviewing job applications or considering project bids, they all had one thing in common. As every one of them started to look at the applications, they had their skeptic’s hat on.

How a Project Manager Thinks

Here are a few quotes from project managers and employers to show you exactly how they think.

1. Jaime, Editor &ndash “The First Elimination”

My process of judging proposals is one of elimination. The first step is about a general impression. If it’s vague and unconvincing &ndash eliminate. If it’s fluffed up but with no substance &ndash eliminate. If it has real details and seems credibale &ndash keep. Many times this process only leaves one person. That’s how easy it is to get a job &ndash be credible and convincing.

2. Jacob, Project Manager – “I only believe what I see for myself.”

I read every proposal while questioning what I’m being told. Some people make things up. Most people exaggerate. Many people think they’re better than they really are. I’ve been working with contractors for a long time and I’ve found that the only way you can judge a person is by what they do.

3. Randy, Project Owner &ndash “Don’t Tell Me, Show Me”

Don’t try and impress me with ramblings. Lots of positive words strung together does nothing for me. You know, “I am keen, reliable, prompt, easygoing, articulate, generous, kind, competitive, athletic…” I have no reason to believe you’re any of those things. If you want me to pick you for the project, you have to do more than just tell me. You have to prove it to me.

How to Beat the Skeptic

It’s not about what you say, it’s about how you say it. Three small changes will make all the difference to your credibility and will get you more work more often.

1. Use Real Evidence

It’s always better to sell yourself with a real example.

Not so good &ndash “I am reliable.”

Much better &ndash “You will never be left wondering how the project is going because I will provide timely updates to keep you informed.”

2. Use Your Results

Telling project managers about your past results is also a good way to sell yourself.

Not so good &ndash “I write effective web site copy.”

Much better &ndash “With my new and improved content, my last client increased their sales by 120% in the first month.”

The second statement clearly communicates the quality and effectiveness of the work. And at the same time, it’s likely to excite the project manager into thinking that the same result could occur for them.

3. Be Specific

If you can use facts and figures to make your point, do so.

Not so good &ndash “Most of my business is repeat, showing that my clients are happy with the service I provide.”

Much better &ndash “96% of new clients have returned to use my services again.”

Not so good &ndash “I have completed various similar projects.”

Much better &ndash “I have completed 19 similar projects in the last year.”

Make these three simple changes to your bids and job applications and you’ll win more clients, jobs, and projects.

How To Get Noticed By Editors And Publishers: Make Your Strengths Shine

Essays — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:52:12 +0000

To be a successful writer and get noticed, being good often isn’t good enough. You have to shine. You have to have something that puts you above all others. Of course though, nobody is perfect. Everyone has faults and flaws. But everyone has talents and abilities too. What’s your talent?

Find your talent and focus on it. Develop it. Showcase it in your writing so it really shines through. Remember, one thing that stands out is far easier to notice than ten things that are good, but not great. Make sure your best skill stands out.

Stacey’s Story: Start With Something Special

I had my breakthrough while taking a break from writing. I was watching the movie Bring it On and decided to watch the bonus features. One of them was an interview with the director and he talked about how the screenplay got noticed because it opened with the cheer song. That stood out, that got their attention, that made them want to read the rest. I decided to take the same approach. I took chances with the start. I started with a letter, a poem, a snippet from a diary. It must have made the difference because with that one change, a manuscript that had been rejected 14 times got purchased. &ndashStacey, Novelist

Carmen’s Story: Use Your Strengths

I was told by my teachers and by readers that my dialogue was really strong. So I decided to stop hiding it away and I put it right out front. I made the first chapter of my novel almost all dialogue. It got the attention of an agent, who has since told me that the individuality of the first chapter told him that he had found a new writer with a clear sense of style. He took me on and is now trying to sell that sense of style to publishers. Even better for me, he’s not just trying to sell my first book, he’s trying to sell me as the next new thing, a young writer to look out for! &ndashCarmen, Novelist

Editor Says: “Forget Modesty”

Writing is not a business where you can afford to be modest. You have to get in there and show what you’ve got. Whatever you do better than everyone else, show it off. Build your work around your best skill. Otherwise, you’re going to be lumped in with the rest of the writers that are good, but don’t stand out. &ndashJames, Editor

Editor Says: “I’m Looking for One Thing”

Many writers make the mistake of trying to show me everything they do well. Forget it. I’m glancing at hundreds of manuscripts a day. To catch my attention, you have to hit me between the eyes with one strong point that I can’t not notice. There will be time later to show me your other strengths. For the first contact, focus on making one clear point about yourself and make it a good one.

&ndashDarryn, Editor

Susan’s Story: Is it Really a Flaw?

In the early days of Susan’s career, everyone advised her that she relied on dialogue too much. So she cut out the dialogue. She kept writing but found her work lacked energy. Years later, she decided to ignore all the advice. The novel came naturally to her and it was almost all dialogue. The book reviews praised her unique style and voice. Susan learned her lesson&ndashnever suppress what comes naturally to you. Remember, what comes naturally to you might be your greatest gift, not your greatest flaw.

Top Six Ways to Find Your Strength

1. Ask other people what stands out about your work.

2. Read some of your best work and make a list of what makes it good.

3. Read through the contents of a book about writing and ask yourself if there is an area you are good at.

4. Think about what other people have said about your work. Are there any comments that keep being repeated?

5. Ask yourself what you care about when you write.

6. What do you like about other people’s work? Often the things you notice in other people’s work are also the things that you are good at.

Selling Yourself As A Freelance Business Writer: Skills, Or Knowledge?

Essays — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:36:07 +0000

You know the secret to a long-term, and profitable, client relationship is delivering effective communication tools. But you may not realize that the impact of your writing has more to do with your skill as a writer than with your knowledge of the subject.

And unless you help your clients understand the value of your skills, you limit your opportunities to sell those skills again and again.

Every business has its own specialists, people who know more about their products and services than you’ll ever know. So why can’t they produce great marketing copy, clear user guides, or truly effective training for their employees and sales reps?

Because they don’t have the skills that you do, the talent for communicating with impact to achieve specific results. We’ve all met experts who “know their stuff” but can’t share their knowledge — perhaps your math or physics or French teacher, or an engineer or programmer in a company you know, or even your doctor, lawyer, or insurance agent.

At some point, a company realizes they need help communicating, educating prospects, customers, and their own employees about the benefits and best practices associated with their products and services. They go looking for outside help . . . and then they forget why!

Your long-term success depends on reminding them of that need for communication skills. Most of these experts, whether clinicians or programmers or engineers or legal experts, are more comfortable talking to people just like themselves, rather than creative types like artists and writers.

Left to themselves, they’ll hire someone who knows a lot about their area, but perhaps writes only a little better than they do. And a year or two later, they’ll be looking for someone else to help them when they realize that all the copy and training content and documentation they have churned out has produced mediocre results.

Help yourself and help your clients.

When you get an opportunity to talk to a prospect about creating effective communications for them, keep pushing the conversation toward the skills they need to pull it off. Make sure they understand their own need for someone different from the resources they already have in house. Help them recognize that your skills complement their knowledge, that it is that combination that produces results in the form of higher revenues, more customers, or enhanced employee performance.

Even if you know their subject matter well, your skills are more important. After all, should their product line change, or new markets open, they may be dealing with a new body of knowledge in a year or two.

But their need for effective communication will remain, and, if you’ve positioned yourself as the “communication expert” of their team, you’ll continue to have opportunities for business from existing clients even as their business practices and markets change.

What Does It Take To Succeed As An Independent Copywriter?

Essays — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:32:46 +0000

In looking back on the nearly four dozen aspiring copywriters I’ve trained and mentored over the years and asking which personal qualities posed challenges and roadblocks and which enable beginners to carve out a lasting niche for themselves, I have zeroed in on four key skill areas. To build and sustain a copywriting or marketing consulting business, you need to be or become good in these four competencies:

1. Writing. To develop persuasive written materials, you must learn to meld creativity, which involves being able to put forth fresh ideas, concepts, phrasings and images, with proven formats – structures for sales letters, brochures, press releases, home pages and so on that embody techniques that work.

If you learn only the latter, your work comes across sounding formulaic and hollow. It can attract clients and produce results, but only to a limited extent. Perceptive clients will notice that your projects tend to come out much the same. They’ll conclude that you’re either still in the apprenticeship phase of mastery or that you lack the problem-solving skill they need to get the kinds of results they crave.

And on the other hand, if you depend too heavily on creativity, you fail to use the little devices, turns of phrase, formatting tools and finishing touches that help improve response. I see this weakness in a lot of my beginning students – which is fine, because any halfway decent copywriting training course, whether live or canned, can remedy this shortcoming.

To achieve the ideal balance between creativity and the tricks of the trade on your own, you’d need great instincts and loads of practice. Top-notch mentoring, with frequent feedback from an experienced master, is a surer and faster route to finding your feet as a copywriter.

2. Pleasing clients. I’ve seen people who have no trouble with #1 flounder or become miserable because of this essential factor. Again it’s necessary to strike a balance, this time between doing great work and making sure that the person or company paying your fee is satisfied.

Without knowing how to please clients, you can turn out terrific copy and have clients refuse to pay, or pay up but never come back. It’s crucial to be able to listen to the client’s goals, to keep those goals in mind while shaping the work, to explain what you’ve done and why, and to talk through differences in perception so that the two sides eventually see eye to eye.

This skill did not – does not – come naturally to me. I have learned this painfully and repeatedly, by overlooking or forgetting it, analyzing what went wrong and resolving to do better in the future. Sometimes the error here is in accepting projects where the client’s expectations are at odds with the way you think things should be done. Sometimes there’s not enough communication with the client and education of the client away from what you see as wrongheaded ideas.

While this factor still goes awry for me a few times every year, most of my projects go well because I attract plenty of clients who love the way I do things and respect my opinion where it differs from theirs. If you build a strong enough reputation, clients tend to listen to you – though not always.

On the other hand, I’ve seen plenty of beginning copywriters as well as colleagues with years of experience struggle with the opposite side of this balancing act. They know how to please clients but in doing so, they make themselves unhappy.

For your own sanity, you need to be able to set firm boundaries – ground rules, policies and things to say when clients become unreasonable in their demands. If they demand rewrite after rewrite, insist that their ignorant ideas are superior to what you know, expect you to chitchat endlessly whenever they feel like calling or otherwise drive you nuts, you must be able to head off these problems, negotiate solutions and disengage.

Having trusted colleagues to discuss problems with, an online or in-person peer group or a coach help immeasurably in finding your way with pleasing clients.

3. Business skills. How much should you charge? How many clients do you need, and how can you find them? What if your sure-fire marketing tactics fail to bring in clients, or bring in more than you can handle? What if clients who say they loved what you did don’t pay?

No one is born knowing any of this stuff. With guidance from people who are running or have run a successful business, you can learn key business skills. If you’ve run any other kind of business before turning to copywriting or have watched successful entrepreneurs up close, you’ll probably find this skill area easy.

Years of membership in the New England Women Business Owners organization and my prior experience as a freelance writer for national magazines taught me how to be tough with clients when needed, charge what I’m worth, keep on trying when I felt I was on the right track, regroup when necessary and avoid dumb business decisions most of the time.

One of the most common business challenges I’ve seen for aspiring copywriters involves money issues. Charge too little, and you may be working very hard, have loyal clients and yet not be earning enough to sustain yourself (or your family) over time. A support group or mentor can help you battle the inner demons that keep you from raising your rates, whereupon almost always you discover that the best clients don’t mind paying more, and you feel happier about the business.

The second most common business challenge involves perseverance. If something doesn’t work out the way you’d hoped, do you retreat in hurt and disappointment, or do you simply try something else? I’ve watched a couple of people jump into the copywriting business with supreme enthusiasm and then brood obsessively over every minor reversal. Unfortunately, this type of person isn’t suited to self-employment. If you give up or feel overwhelmed easily, then you may be better off working on salary for an employer.

4. Discipline. To earn a living writing copy for others, you must be able to manage deadlines and details. By deadlines, I mean not only the obvious point that if you’ve promised that a project would be finished by June 30, it must be, but also the less obvious point that you need to be able to complete top-notch work in a reasonable amount of time.

If you can reach excellence only painstakingly or through a slow process of repeated drafts, you may not be able to make it in the business. Few clients are willing to pay enough for a web site, or be patient enough, to let you treat their project as if you were Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel.

Another personality type that has trouble with discipline is a Crisis Cathy – someone who masterfully and continually creates emergencies, problems and roadblocks so that things never get done, but with seemingly legitimate excuses. Family members may put up with this kind of behavior, but clients generally won’t, especially if it rears its head more than once.

As for details, you must have the discipline to proofread, check facts and get things like names and numbers right. I’ve seen a couple of writers who can’t spell or use proper grammer become fabulously successful nevertheless, but I do not recommend this. Where clients are concerned, it’s a much bigger handicap than these blithe spirits will admit. Most clients do not take well to carelessness on your part. When you deliver work containing mistakes, they consider it disrespectful and unprofessional.

So there you have it. These four competencies are roughly equal in importance for success as an independent copywriter or marketing consultant, I believe. Do you measure up? Are you willing to work on developing the qualities you don’t have?

Writing Advice From The Experts Part #3

Essays — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:44:33 +0000

You must be prepared to work always without applause. – Ernest Hemingway

Much of the wisdom available from established authors may be surprising in it’s honesty and straightforward nature. The reason this is likely true is the authors in question have had enough success that there is no need to candy coat the truths they have discovered in their experience. This is the final article in this series.

On Learning the Art of Writing

I learned to write by listening to people talk. I still feel that the best of my writing comes from having heard rather than having read. – Gayl Jones

You have to protect your writing time. You have to protect it to the death. – William Goldman

By writing much, one learns to write well. – Robert Southey

To produce a mighty work, you must choose a mighty theme. – Herman Melville

No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader. – Robert Frost

A writer’s job is to imagine everything so personally that the fiction is as vivid as memories. – John Irving

Plot springs from character…. I’ve always sort of believed that these people inside me — these characters — know who they are and what they’re about and what happens, and they need me to help get it down on paper because they don’t type. – Anne Lamott

In your writing, be strong, defiant, forbearing. Have a point to make and write to it. Dare to say what you want most to say, and say it as plainly as you can. Whether or not you write well, write bravely. – Bill Stout

Whenever you write, whatever you write, never make the mistake of assuming the audience is any less intelligent than you are. – Rod Serling

If the stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away where they are needed. – Barry Lopez

Write about it by day, and dream about it by night. – E. B. White

Any writer overwhelmingly honest about pleasing himself is almost sure to please others. – Marianne Moore

On Humor

When in doubt have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand. – Raymond Chandler

The humorous story is told gravely; the teller does his best to conceal the fact that he even dimly suspects that there is anything funny about it. – Mark Twain

On Naming Your Work

A good title should be like a good metaphor. It should intrigue without being too baffling or too obvious. – Walker Percy

The title to a work of writing is like a house’s front porch…. It should invite you to come on in. – Angela Giles Klocke

I hope you catch the sense that successful authors draw from the real stuff of life, keep things simple and well told. If you look closely, these authors keep a sense of humor about them and remain personable. These are admirable lessons to consider in your writing journey.

Freelance Writing From Home – The Drawbacks

Essays — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 01:22:28 +0000

The life of a freelance writer isn’t all glitz and glamour. Before you take the plunge into freelance writing at your work-at home career choice, there are a few things to consider. While you can work from home earning money in your pajamas, there are negatives to this career choice. Here’s a list of ten of the common drawbacks of freelance writing.

1. No sick days. Sometimes you have to work while you’re sick. If you don’t, you lose money and maybe a client. Clients aren’t very forgiving unless you have a solid relationship with them and even then, sometimes their deadline is more important to them than your health and well being.

2. No medical benefits, a 401K or even a guaranteed income. You have to pay your own taxes too. This can make budgeting tricky when you take the plunge into freelance writing for a living, especially if you’re the main breadwinner in your house.

3. Pay day is not guaranteed. You may go from famine to feast and then famine again regularly and payday doesn’t come every second Friday so it can be a tricky balancing act, especially in the early days.

4. Juggling deadlines and family responsibilities can be challenging at times. You may have to give certain parties and events a miss because you have a deadline. You may feel conflicted at times when you have to let the laundry or dirty dishes pile up so you can finish an assignment. You may have to learn write with a crying baby on your lap.

5. Chasing payments isn’t fun. There are customers who aren’t as eager to pay you as they are to take your hard work. Sometimes people don’t pay on time or try to short pay or not pay at all. You have to develop skills to protect yourself and may have to act as your own collections agent part-time.

6. Freelancers can have regular work, one-off gigs and can have a great paying regular deal that might suddenly disappear. The well can dry up regularly so you have to keep a constant lookout for work.

7. Reworking and multiple edits. You can slave over something for a client and they might hate it. You have to take criticism and might have to deliver work you don’t think is as well written after your client asks for changes. You need to develop a tough skin in this business.

8. Projects can be difficult to estimate. You can underestimate prep time and working time for a project and find that it has lost you money in the end. This can be difficult but until you’re very experienced, it will probably happen.

9. Sploggers, spammers and scrapers are rampant in online markets and want to steal your work and benefit from it! Be prepared to be plagiarized.

10. You have to have a really good eye for scams. When trying to establish yourself, it’s a learning process and many new writers are scammed a few times before they become wise to all the tricks and signs of a scam.

Regardless of the negatives listed here, freelance writing can also be a great gig that can earn you money, offer a flexible home based business and can be personally fulfilling if you love to write. With time and experience, you’ll find you are able to better deal with the downsides of writing for a living.

Who’s Speaking: Choosing A Narrator’s Voice

Essays — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:24:40 +0000

Have you given much thought to the voice of your narrator? Perhaps you assumed the narrator in your novel should remain neutral. Many writers believe that the narrator should have little in the way of identity and the use of a narrator is essentially a necessary means of moving the story from one scene to the next.

It may come as a surprise to learn that your narrator can, and SHOULD, have a distinctive voice. The narrator should be used to do more than simply take the reader on a guided tour of your story.

The technique used to add life to your narrator is called ‘Voice’. How you ultimately choose to define the character of your narrator can add a new dimension to your work. By adding a unique personality to your narrator the reader has a chance to visualize the story through the eyes of someone that intrigues them. They may not particularly like the narrator, but the voice you choose help the reader find a new facet of interest in your story.

Your narrator could have a strained relationship with the main character and might make occasionally negative comments as they unfold the story. The reason for the animosity could be explained and resolved as the story unfolds.

The Disney movie “Emperor’s New Groove” was narrated by the main character who interjected humor, sarcasm and arrogance that allowed the viewer to gain a clearer picture of the primary character, the conflict his actions created, and the ultimate need for him to lose some of his pride. What is interesting is the narrator’s voice also allowed the viewer to actually enjoy the Emperor’s character even more.

In western fiction the narrator often provides range-hardened wisdom during the course of the narrative that leaves you feeling as if you’ve saddled up a horse and are paired up an agreeable partner that has much to teach you.

Some writing intentionally portrays the narrator as distant and rather formal in their story telling. In this case the writer does not wish to have the narrator play a significant role in the storyline and only wishes them to fill in the blanks with no commentary or personality showing through.

Determining the voice of your narrator can be an important element in the development of your story. Choosing the ‘voice’ of your narrator may be best achieved early in the story-writing process to avoid needless rewriting.

A Freelancer’s Guide To Meeting Project Deadlines

Essays — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:39:35 +0000

When it comes to meeting deadlines, one way to manage your timetable effectively is to divide the large jobs and farm them out to several freelancers.

Let’s say you’ve been awarded a writing job to write an e-book on childcare with 10 chapters for $2,000 over a 45 day period of time. Bid out each chapter separately among 10 freelancers and allocate, say, $100 for each chapter over a 25 day period. This way you don’t have to worry about the deadline because you’ve given yourself a 20-day buffer and you stand to earn $1,000 for your efforts.

If you are going to handle a project in this manner, then you must be able to rewrite the articles to make sure the entire book “flows” seamlessly and that the same style and tone of voice is consistent throughout.

1. Cultivate a strong talent pool

In many cases, this is the most important asset you need to subcontract work to others. Here are a few additional tips to help you out in this regard:

a) Know how to hire a good coder

There are four things you should look at when hiring a coder &ndash their resume, their samples, their rating, and their client testimonials.

The last two are critical because it is easy to prepare a bogus resume and samples, especially on the Internet.

If you look at those four things and feel you have found the person you are looking for, hire them.

b) Know how to keep them happy

A happy coder always delivers better work than an unhappy one, given the same skill level. You keep your freelancers happy by dealing in a polite and professional manner, paying them on time and understanding them when they fall or falter (and believe me, they will miss a deadline now and then). Give them respect and they will give you their best.

2. Nurture your current roster of clients

Here is the main reason why quality counts &ndash it is quality, more than anything else, that will make your customers come running back to you again and again. Always put a premium on quality. First-class work is sometimes hard to find, especially given a limited budget. If you consistently deliver first-class work, you assure yourself and your freelancers of a prosperous business well into the future.

There is a popular saying in sales which says that “It is eight times easier to get new business from your current clients than it is from cold calls.” In other words, make sure you ask your clients for referrals from people they know or work with who may need the service you provide.

Some freelancers hesitate to ask for referrals because they feel it is unprofessional. They feel asking for referrals is like asking for a favor. That is not the case. If you have faith in your ability to deliver good work you are actually helping your client because of your willingness to provide quality work to their friends or business associates. That will reflect well on them too. It is a two-way street.

Essays Assistance » freelance

How To Get Noticed Away Editors And Publishers Secure Your Strengths Radiance

Related posts

It

Related posts

Winning Freelance Work: Beat The Skeptic

Related posts

How To Get Noticed By Editors And Publishers: Make Your Strengths Shine

Related posts

Selling Yourself As A Freelance Business Writer: Skills, Or Knowledge?

Related posts

What Does It Take To Succeed As An Independent Copywriter?

Related posts

Writing Advice From The Experts Part #3

Related posts

Freelance Writing From Home – The Drawbacks

Related posts

Who’s Speaking: Choosing A Narrator’s Voice

Related posts

A Freelancer’s Guide To Meeting Project Deadlines

Related posts